LA 2024 releases $5.3 billion budget; no new stadiums needed
The Los Angeles bid committee for the 2024 Olympics released details of a nearly unheard-of budget plan Friday, insisting $5.3 billion will be enough to cover both operational and infrastructure costs for an Olympics that won’t need any new, permanent stadiums.
The cost would be less than half that of the recently completed Rio Games and about a quarter of Tokyo’s ballooning budget for the 2020 Olympics.
It also defies convention in the Olympic bidding business, in which cities traditionally deal with two figures — one for operational costs and one for “non-Olympics” costs that cover capital and infrastructure.
Bid officials say they can do this because more than 30 venues already exist in the L.A. area and those that don’t will be built as temporary structures. The bid folded in $1.2 billion for infrastructure, which would primarily be used for temporary venues and to bring existing ones up to Olympic standards.